The regular monthly meeting of the Western Howard County Democratic Club was held on Tuesday, June 19, 2006 at the Howard County Conservancy at 10520 Frederick Rt. (Rte. 99), Woodstock, MD. Clyde Robinette, President, called the meeting to order. Twenty-two were in attendance, including representatives from the Mount Hebron and Atherton High School Young Democrats Clubs.

The featured program was provided by Rachelina Bonacci, Executive Director, Howard County Tourism and Victoria Goodman, Executive Director, Blossoms of Hope Project. The goal of the project is to capitalize on the Cherry Blossom promotion in Washington, D.C. by promoting business, organizations and individuals to plant cherry trees throughout the county. When the project was initiated in 2005, the goal was to plant 2000 cherry trees in the county. That goal was met and exceeded by 2007. Howard County has participated in the Washington, D.C. Cherry Blossom parade for the past two years and has gained national publicity for the County.

Cathy Zomlefer, vice chair of the Howard County Democratic Central Committee and Coordinator of the HCDCC Neighborhood Contact Program, gave an overview of the program and asked for volunteers to represent the party within specific areas of the county (precincts or smaller). The program is the principal vehicle for the party-building initiative that Chair Michael McPherson announced at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in May.

Western Howard County is a priority area for building the party and electing Democratic candidates in the 2008 and subsequent elections. Zomlefer cited a goal of 300 Neighborhood Contacts to achieve county-wide coverage. Neighborhood Contacts are asked to be the eyes and ears of the party, contacting and involving currently-registered Democrats, promoting voter registration and keeping track of neighborhood events, issues and trends.

1. Tuesday, August 21, 2007. Monthly meeting of the Western Howard County Democratic Club at the Howard County Conservancy, 10520 Old Fredrick Rd. (Rte. 99), Woodstock, MD starting at 7 p.m. The meeting was originally advertised as August 22, so note the change. There will be a brief business meeting followed by presentation on the process for selecting delegates for the 2008 National Democratic Party Convention to be held next summer in Denver.

The remainder of the meeting will be devoted to an ice cream social and discussions with the local supporters of the national Democratic presidential candidates concluding with a Straw Vote and raffle. Plan to be there and get acquainted with fellow Democrats. Please note that everyone in attendance (adults and members of high school Democratic Clubs) will be able to vote in the straw ballot. The final vote will reflect the choices of the individual voters and will not be construed as a club action or expression.

The Howard County Conservancy is located on the northeast corner of the intersection of Rte. 99 and Woodstock Road, east of Rte. 32. Hope to see you at there!

Next WHCDC meeting: Tuesday, September 18 at 7 p.m. at the Howard County Conservancy.

2. Monday, September 3, 2007. Annual Howard County Democratic Central Committee Labor Day Picnic at Savage Park, 8400 Fair Street, Savage, MD.

Meet many of the county and state Democratic office holders and your fellow Democrats at this important event. Tickets are $15 per person or $25 per family. RSVP to info@howardcountydems.com or 410-290-9791. Please note the change of location to Savage Park, rather than Cedar Lane Park. Directions: take U.S. 1 to Howard Street and bear left onto Baltimore Street through Savage to the end. Make right turn into the Park (picnic area is behind the tennis courts.

3. Sunday, September 16, 2007. 2-4 p.m. Liz Bobo’s “Fall Classic” Cedar Lane Park East Pavilion (off Rte. 108, not Cedar Lane.)

4. Monday, October 1, 2007. Maryland Democratic Party major fund-raising gala. Details later.

5. Ken Ulman’s First Annual Family Picnic, August 4, and the Democratic Booth at the Howard County Fair were big successes. At least 400 attended Ken’s cookout at the Circle D Ranch here in Western Howard, and our booth at the Fair had a lot more traffic than our opposition across the midway. Howard County representatives for the Clinton, Obama and Richardson campaigns were in the final parade on Saturday and enjoyed many encouraging cheers.

6. Check the Club Website for the August President’s Message.

Visit our new Club Website at: http://www.westernhowarddems.com
for all club information!
To receive information directly from the Howard County Democratic Party,
Click on http://www.howardcountydems.com

Mearl Grabill, Secretary

Hi WHCDC Friends,

Summer is winding down and the kids are getting geared up to go back to school. Vacation season is coming to a close, as well. The Howard County Fair is one of my favorite events of the summer. The club was well represented in the Democratic Booth at the Fair. Thank you to all who signed up to participate!!

At our last meeting, we had a presentation from county and state planners on the widening of Route 32. As you probably have noticed, building of the Burntwoods Road interchange has started. We want to watch closely the impact of the significant increase of new jobs at Ft. Meade (and the families who will move here) with the BRAC changes and the widening of Route 32 on our way of life in western Howard County. We will study issues related to zoning pressures, school enrollment, traffic patterns around the interchanges and the environmental impact of increased housing and traffic. We had a rich discussion of how the club can respond. This will continue to be a focus of our club over the next few years.

The elephant in the room of politics these days is the Democratic Presidential Primary Campaign. I hope you can join us on Tuesday, August 21st for our Ice Cream Social and primary preview. We have invited folks from the various Howard County groups supporting the Democratic candidates to join us and give you a chance to talk with them about their candidates and sign up to help the campaigns. At the end, we will have a straw vote with all present invited to participate. We will continue to follow developments in the campaigns as we move toward the Maryland primary in February.

I hope to see you all Tuesday evening!!

Clyde Robinette
President

This is just too wonderful to put on the blog...

1. Tuesday, September 18, 2007. Monthly meeting of the Western Howard County Democratic Club at the Howard County Conservancy, 10520 Old Fredrick Rd. (Rte. 99), Woodstock, MD starting at 7 p.m. Special guest/speaker will be Joshua Feldmark, Executive Director of the Commission on the Environment and Sustainability for Howard County, who will provide an overview on the Commission’s work addressing the environmental issues as the County moves toward “build out” in all areas of the county, including Western Howard.

Under Feldmark’s leadership, the Commission has taken the wide view approach to environmental preservation and sustainability as the pressures for growth have increased, especially in Western Howard with the BRAC changes and the widening of MD Rte. 32. They have produced committee reports in the areas of Air and Water Quality, Education and Outreach, Energy, Government Organization, Green Building & Development, and Open Space and Land Preservation. You can read the committee reports online at: http://howardcountymd.gov/CES/CES_Homepage.htm. The Committee Reports and the final Commission Report will be used to help guide governmental decisions that will affect the county as we move toward “build out” in 10-15 years

The Howard County Conservancy is located on the northeast corner of the intersection of Rte. 99 and Woodstock Road, east of Rte. 32. Hope to see you at there!

WHCDC meeting Schedule for the remainder of 2007:

Tuesday, October 16, 2007. Speaker, Ken Ulman, County Executive, Howard County

Tuesday, November 20, 2007. Speaker, Courtney Watson, Councilperson, Howard County Council District 1 (Ellicott City).

Tuesday, December 18, 2007. Program to be announced.

2. Monday, September 3, 2007. Annual Howard County Democratic Central Committee Labor Day Picnic at Savage Park, 8400 Fair Street, Savage, MD.

Meet many of the county and state Democratic office holders and your fellow Democrats at this important event. Tickets are $15 per person or $25 per family. RSVP to info@howardcountydems.com or 410-290-9791. Please note the change of location to Savage Park, rather than Cedar Lane Park. Directions: take U.S. 1 to Howard Street and bear left onto Baltimore Street through Savage to the end. Make right turn into the Park (picnic area is behind the tennis courts.

3. Sunday, September 16, 2007. 2-4 p.m. Liz Bobo’s “Fall Classic” Cedar Lane Park East Pavilion (off Rte. 108, not Cedar Lane.)

4. Monday, October 1, 2007. Maryland Democratic Party major fund-raising gala at Martin’s Crosswinds in Greenbelt, MD. VIP reception is at 6 p.m. and dinner is at 7 p.m.

Tickets to both events are $500 per person; $250 for dinner only. Table sponsorships are available. Contact Sue Levitan at slevitan@mddems.org or call Sue at 410-269-6818 for sponsorship or any additional information.

5. Nearly 30 individuals attended the WHCDC August Meeting to heard Greg Pecoraro of Westminster, describe the delegate selection process for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. See more details in the meeting minutes on the Club Website. Representatives from the Clinton, Obama, Edwards and Richardson campaigns staffed tables for the straw vote. Outcome of the Straw Vote: Clinton 7; Obama 7; Edwards 7 and Richardson 5. Everyone enjoyed the ice cream and socialization.